Tape and reel orientation system

ABSTRACT

A method and system identify an orientation of a part to be packaged by a tape and reel machine. The method includes identifying a packing slot of the tape and reel machine. The method includes identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot. The method includes determining whether the orientation of the part in the packing slot matches a predetermined orientation for the part. Additionally, the method includes generating an alert in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the predetermined orientation of the part.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is related to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/521,277, filed Aug. 8, 2011, entitled “Tape and ReelOrientation System”. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/521,277 isassigned to the assignee of the present application and is herebyincorporated by reference into the present application as if fully setforth herein. The present application hereby claims priority under 35U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/521,277.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to tape and reel machines,and more specifically, managing orientation of components within a tapeand reel machine.

BACKGROUND

Tape and reel machines are utilized to prepare components for use in avariety of applications. These machines depend on the accurate placementof the component. The failure of the proper placement of the componentinto a tape to reel machine can create significant problems. In order toovercome these problems, systems and methods are needed to ensure thatcomponents placed into a tape and reel machine are properly oriented.

SUMMARY

A method and system identify an orientation of a part to be packaged bya tape and reel machine.

In various embodiments, a method includes identifying a packing slot ofthe tape and reel machine. The method includes identifying theorientation of the part in the packing slot. The method includesdetermining whether the orientation of the part in the packing slotmatches a predetermined orientation for the part. Additionally, themethod includes generating an alert in response to determining that theorientation of the part does not match the predetermined orientation ofthe part.

In various embodiments, a system includes a tape and reel machine, apacking slot operatively connected to the tape and reel machine; and averification device operationally proximate to the packing slot. Theverification device is configured to identify the orientation of thepart in the packing slot, determine whether the orientation of the partin the packing slot matches a predetermined orientation for the part,and generate an alert in response to determining that the orientation ofthe part does not match the predetermined orientation of the part.

In other embodiments, a method of visually verifying an orientation of apart to be packaged using a tape and reel machine is provided. Themethod includes receiving an image of the part in a packing slot. Themethod includes comparing the received image with a second image of asecond part with a correct orientation to determine whether theorientation of the part in the packing slot is correct. Additionally,the method includes generating an alert in response to determining thatthe orientation of the part does not match the correct orientation.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may beadvantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases usedthroughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” aswell as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term“or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and“associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean toinclude, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be containedwithin, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with,cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to orwith, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller”means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least oneoperation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware orsoftware, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should benoted that the functionality associated with any particular controllermay be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely.Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout thispatent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understandthat in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, aswell as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following briefdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings anddetailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent likeparts:

FIG. 1 illustrates tape and reel orientation system according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system in which variousembodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a wiring diagram connecting averification device to a tape and reel machine according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process of detecting whether there is anorientation error using an image according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a data processing system that maybe used in implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 5, discussed below, and the various embodiments used todescribe the principles of the present invention in this patent documentare by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any wayto limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art willunderstand that the principles of the invention may be implemented inany type of suitably arranged device or system.

FIG. 1 illustrates a tape and reel orientation tape and reel orientationsystem 100 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure.In this illustrative embodiment, the tape and reel orientation tape andreel orientation system 100 includes a tape and reel machine 101 and averification device 104. During operation of the tape and reel machine101, a part 108 is placed into a packing slot 106 and secured by tape102. The verification device 104 ensures that the orientation of thepart 108 placed into the packing slot 106 is correct prior to theattaching of the tape 102. It is expressly understood that FIG. 1illustrates a plurality of placing slots and parts, and that thedesignation of the part 108 and the packing slot 106 is for the purposeof clarity.

As will be described in more detail herein, the verification device 104may be embodied as a scanner, an optical camera, a barcode reader, acharge detection device, a radio frequency identification (RFID)scanner, or any other device capable of determining the presence and/ororientation of the part 108 within the packing slot 106. Theverification device 104 is positioned such that it is in operationalproximity with the part 108 such that the verification device 104 iseffective in determining the orientation of the part 108 based upon theembodiment of the verification device 104.

As will be appreciated, parts (such as part 108) may be placed inpacking slots by humans or mechanical devices. One problem is thatorientation of the part placed into the packing slot may be incorrect.Therefore, prior to securing the part in the packing slot 106 with thetape 102, verification device 104 may be used to determine if the properpart is in the packing slot 106 and/or the part is in the properorientation.

The verification device 104, when embodied as a scanner, may useelectrical or optical scanning to locate a specific point or area on thepart 108 within the packing slot 106. If the point or area on the part108 within the packing slot 106 does not correspond to a known point orarea, the part 108 may be incorrectly orientated within the packing slot106.

The verification device 104, when embodied as an optical camera, maygenerate an image of the part 108 within the packing slot 106 andcompare the image with an image of the part in the proper orientationusing an image recognition technique. This image recognition techniquemay compare the image of a part (in a known and correct orientation)with the part presently in the tape and reel machine. If comparison doesnot indicate a match with the correct orientation, the verificationdevice 104 may indicate a failure of orientation.

The verification device 104, when embodied as a barcode reader, may usean optical beam to read a barcode affixed to the part 108 within thepacking slot 106. If the barcode does not correspond to a known barcode,the part 108 may be incorrectly orientated within the packing slot 106.It is further understood that the verification device 104 may, in someembodiments, be designed to have a threshold for readability of aparticular barcode. Therefore, a barcode may be read and determined tobe within a particular quality threshold to be correct. Not only may thepresence of the barcode be examined, but also the quality of the printon the barcode. This quality of print may also be determined by any ofthe other various methods of the implementation of the verificationdevice 104 as described herein, including charge systems particularlywhen the label includes a conductive material on the face of the part108.

The verification device 104, when embodied as a charge detection device,may create a charge and detect the presence of a particular segment ofconductive material on the part 108 within the packing slot 106. Thefailure of the charge detection device to locate a particular charge inthe packing slot 106 may indicate a failure of the presence or correctorientation of the part 108. In addition, the use of the chargedetection device may further enable a level of quality assurance of thepart 108, as the absence of a particular element within the part 108 mayindicate a faulty element.

The verification device 104 may also include a plurality of suchdevices, or a combination of such devices (as described previously) toprovide multiple checks on the proper orientation and presence of thepart 108 within the tape and reel orientation system 100. It will beunderstood that other embodiments of the verification device 104 may beused with the present disclosure and the examples offered herein areintended for exemplary purposes only and are not intended to belimiting.

Verification device 104 may be coupled to a warning light, a visualindicator, a computer device, an audio warning, or another devicecapable of transmitting an error signal indicating a problem with theorientation of the part 108 within the packing slot 106 to an operatorof the tape and reel orientation system 100. It is expressly understoodthat the verification device 104 may further automatically stop the tapeand reel orientation system 100 from proceeding further and interruptthe tape and reel orientation system 100 from sealing the part 108 usingthe tape 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system 200 in which variousembodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The system 200includes a verification device 202 (e.g., verification device 104)coupled to a backend validation device 208, a tape and reel machine 204(e.g., tape and reel machine 101) and a manual advance controller 206.The verification device 202 and the backend validation device 208 may becoupled to an external system 210.

In some embodiments, the verification device 202 is positioned such thatthe verification device 202 can determine whether the part 108 is placedwith the correct orientation into the packing slot 106. During operationof the tape and reel machine 204, the verification device 202 may detecta problem with the orientation or presence of the part 108 within thepacking slot 106. In the event of such a problem, the verificationdevice 202 may send a signal to the tape and reel machine 204 to preventthe part 108 in the packing slot 106 from being sealed with the tape102.

The detection of an incorrect orientation or other problem by thevalidation device 202 may further include the use of a backendvalidation device 208. The backend validation device 208 may include oneor more databases storing information relating to the image(s) of thepart 108, the barcode of the part 108, or other suitable informationuseful for determining proper orientation and/or presence of the part.

It is understood that the backend validation device 208 and theverification device 202 may include communications capabilities enablingthe verification device 202 or the backend validation device 208 toreport a potential problem with the orientation or presence of the part108 to another system. External system 210 may further receiveinformation from either or both of the backend validation device 208 andverification device 202 which may be used for any purpose, includingrecord keeping and quality analysis. The external system 210 may furtherbe used to track inventory and available parts used in conjunction withthe tape and reel machine 204.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a wiring diagram 300 connecting averification device to a tape and reel machine according to variousembodiments of the present disclosure. The wiring diagram 300illustrates one method of communicatively coupling the tape and reelmachine 204 to the verification device 202. The tape and reel machine204 includes an input/output port 304 while the verification device 202includes an input/output port 302. For purposes of clarity and by theway of non-limiting example, the port 304 may be connected via a cableto the port 302.

The ports 302, 304 may be serial and/or parallel ports. One example of aserial port may be an RS232 port (as specified by Electronic IndustriesAssociation, published as “EIA232E—Interface Between Data TerminalEquipment and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment Employing Serial BinaryData Interchange” in a standard publication which is hereby incorporatedby reference). Any suitable standard (or non-standard) port(s) andcommunication protocol(s) may be utilized.

It is also further contemplated that there may be an operational tool306 (represented as a switch), such as a foot petal, a mechanicalswitch, a button, or other input, that may be implemented in the manualadvance controller 206. The operational tool 306 may be used to restartthe reel and tape machine 204 in the event of an interruption ofservice. It is expressly understood that a relay 308 may also bepositioned between the port 302 and the port 304. The wiring diagram ofFIG. 3 illustrates a single direct connection between the port 304 andthe port 302, while there is a second connection between the port 304and the port 302 through relay 308 which may be triggered by theoperational tool 306. One advantage of this arrangement is that in theevent of a failure detected by the verification device 302, theoperational tool 306 may be used to restart the tape and reel machine204.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process 400 of detecting whether there is anorientation error using an image according to various embodiments of thepresent disclosure. For example, the process 400 may be performed by theverification device 202, the backend validation device 208 and/orexternal system 210 to detect an orientation and/or presence of the part108 in the packing slot 106.

In block 402, an image of the part 108 in the packing slot 106 isgenerated by the verification device 204 prior to the part 108 beingsealed in the slot 106 by the tape 102. In block 404, the generatedimage is compared against one or more stored images, referred to as theknown image(s). The known image(s) are images of the part in the correctorientation. The known image(s) may be stored in the verification device202, backend validation device 208 or the external system 210.

In block 406, a determination is made by at least one of theverification device 202, the backend validation device 208, or theexternal system 210, whether the orientation (or presence) of the part108 in the packing slot 106 matches the known and stored image(s). Ifthe images match, the part 108 is determined to be in the properorientation. Then in block 408, the tape and reel machine 204 continuesprocessing to a next part, and the process 400 is repeated for the nextpart.

If, however, at block 406 the images do not match, the part 108 isdetermined to not be in the correct orientation, and in block 410, thetape and reel machine 204 is stopped and a user is alerted to this fact.Upon correction of the orientation and/or placement of the correct part108 in the packing slot 106, the manual advance controller 206 mayrestart the tape and reel machine 204 to continue processing thereplaced and/or reoriented part 108.

In other embodiments, instead of or in addition to determination oforientation, the verification device 202, the backend validation device208 and/or external system 210 may determine presence or absence of thecorrect part 108 in the packing slot 106. The verification device 202,the backend validation device 208 and external system 210 describedabove may be implemented on one or more computer systems (e.g., dataprocessing system 500) with sufficient processing power, memoryresources, and network throughput capability to handle the necessaryfunctions described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a data processing system 500 thatmay be used in implementing various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The computer system 500 includes a processor 502, which maybe referred to as a central processor unit or CPU, that is incommunication with memory devices including secondary storage 508, readonly memory (ROM) 510, random access memory (RAM) 512, input/output(I/O) device 506, and network devices 504. The processor 502 may beimplemented as one or more CPU chips.

The secondary storage 508 typically includes one or more disk drives ortape drives and is used for non-volatile storage of data and as anover-flow data storage device if RAM 512 is not large enough to hold allworking data. Secondary storage 508 may be used to store programs thatare loaded into RAM 512 when such programs are selected for execution.The ROM 510 is used to store instructions and perhaps data that are readduring program execution. ROM 510 is a non-volatile memory device thattypically has a small memory capacity relative to the larger memorycapacity of secondary storage. The RAM 512 is used to store volatiledata and perhaps to store instructions. Access to both ROM 510 and RAM512 is typically faster than to secondary storage 508.

I/O devices 506 may include printers, video monitors, liquid crystaldisplays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches,dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tapereaders, or other well-known input devices. The network connectivitydevices 504 may take the form of modems, modem banks, Ethernet cards,universal serial bus (USB) interface cards, serial interfaces, tokenring cards, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) cards, wirelesslocal area network (WLAN) cards, radio transceiver cards such as codedivision multiple access (CDMA) and/or global system for mobilecommunications (GSM) radio transceiver cards, and other well-knownnetwork devices. These network devices 504 may enable the processor 502to communicate with an Internet or one or more intranets. With such anetwork connection, it is contemplated that the processor 502 mightreceive information from the network, or might output information to thenetwork in the course of performing the above-described processes.

The processor 502 executes instructions, codes, computer programs,scripts that it accesses from hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk(these various disk based systems may all be considered secondarystorage 508), ROM 510, RAM 512, or the network devices 504.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure,it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods might beembodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spiritor scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to beconsidered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is notto be limited to the details given herein. For example, the variouselements or components may be combined or integrated in another systemor certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described andillustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may becombined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, ormethods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure.Other products shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicatingwith each other may be coupled through some interface or device, suchthat the products may no longer be considered directly coupled to eachother but may still be indirectly coupled and in communication, whetherelectrically, mechanically, or otherwise with one another. Otherexamples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable byone skilled in the art and could be made without departing from thespirit and scope disclosed herein.

It should be understood that although an exemplary implementation of oneembodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated above, the presentsystem may be implemented using any number of techniques, whethercurrently known or in existence. The present disclosure should in no waybe limited to the exemplary implementations, drawings, and techniquesillustrated above, including the exemplary design and implementationillustrated and described herein, but may be modified within the scopeof the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of identifying an orientation of a partto be packaged by a tape and reel machine, the method comprising:identifying the part in a packing slot of the tape and reel machine;identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot; determiningwhether the orientation of the part in the packing slot matches apredetermined orientation for the part; and generating an alert inresponse to determining that the orientation of the part does not matchthe predetermined orientation of the part.
 2. The method of claim 1further comprising: determining whether a part is present in the packingslot; and generating an alert in response to determining that the partis not present in the packing slot.
 3. The method of claim 2 furthercomprising: determining whether the part present in the slot is acorrect part for the tape and reel machine in response to determiningthat the part is present in the packing slot; and generating an alert inresponse to determining that the part is not the correct part for thetape and reel machine.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying theorientation of the part in the packing slot comprises: generating animage of the packing slot; and identifying the orientation of the partusing an image recognition technique.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot comprises:identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot using acharge detection technique.
 6. The method of claim 1, whereinidentifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot comprises:identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot using abarcode reader.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying theorientation of the part in the packing slot comprises: using at leasttwo different methods to identify the orientation of the part in thepacking slot.
 8. The method of claim 1 further comprising: overridingthe alert using a mechanical switch.
 9. The method of claim 1 furthercomprising: interrupting the tape and reel machine in response todetermining that the orientation of the part does not match thepredetermined orientation of the part.
 10. A system for identifying anorientation of a part to be packaged, the system comprising: a tape andreel machine; a packing slot operatively connected to the tape and reelmachine; and a verification device operationally proximate to thepacking slot, the verification device configured to identify theorientation of the part in the packing slot, determine whether theorientation of the part in the packing slot matches a predeterminedorientation for the part, and generate an alert in response todetermining that the orientation of the part does not match thepredetermined orientation of the part.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the verification device is configured to: determine whether apart is present in the packing slot; and generate an alert in responseto determining that the part is not present in the packing slot.
 12. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the verification device is configured to:determine whether the part present in the slot is a correct part for thetape and reel machine in response to determining that the part ispresent in the packing slot; and generate an alert in response todetermining that the part is not the correct part for the tape and reelmachine.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein to identify the orientationof the part in the packing slot, the verification device is furtherconfigured to: generate an image of the packing slot; and identify theorientation of the part using an image recognition technique.
 14. Thesystem of claim 10, wherein to identify the orientation of the part inthe packing slot, the verification device is further configured toidentify the orientation of the part in the packing slot using a chargedetection technique.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein to identify theorientation of the part in the packing slot, the verification device isfurther configured to identify the orientation of the part in thepacking slot using a barcode reader.
 16. The system of claim 10, whereinto identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot, theverification device is further configured to use at least two differentmethods to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot. 17.The system of claim 10 further comprising: a mechanical switchconfigured to override the alert.
 18. The system of claim 10, whereinthe tape and reel machine is configured to interrupt operation inresponse to generation of the alert.
 19. A method of visually verifyingan orientation of a part to be packaged using a tape and reel machine,the method comprising: receiving an image of the part in a packing slot;comparing the received image with a second image of a second part with acorrect orientation to determine whether the orientation of the part inthe packing slot is correct; and generating an alert in response todetermining that the orientation of the part does not match the correctorientation.
 20. The method of claim 19 further comprising: transmittingresults of the comparing to at least one external device.